mimicry

[ mim-ik-ree ]
See synonyms for mimicry on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural mim·ic·ries.
  1. the act, practice, or art of mimicking.

  2. Biology. the close external resemblance of an organism, the mimic, to some different organism, the model, such that the mimic benefits from the mistaken identity, as seeming to be unpalatable or harmful.

  1. an instance, performance, or result of mimicking.

Origin of mimicry

1
First recorded in 1680–90; mimic + -ry

Words Nearby mimicry

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How to use mimicry in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mimicry

mimicry

/ (ˈmɪmɪkrɪ) /


nounplural -ries
  1. the act or art of copying or imitating closely; mimicking

  2. the resemblance shown by one animal species, esp an insect, to another, which protects it from predators

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for mimicry

mimicry

[ mĭmĭ-krē ]


  1. The resemblance of one organism to another or to an object in its surroundings for concealment or protection from predators. See also aggressive mimicry Batesian mimicry Müllerian mimicry.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.